Celeb wine: Larry Bird's cab is good from way downtown

FOOD & DRINK - from the vineyard

January 17, 2007|By Bill Daley, Chicago Tribune

Celebrity sells, whether it's a new book, a line of percale sheets or a stack of skillets or wine. Celebrity wines run the gamut from easy-drinking to candidates for long cellaring; the price range is wide, too, from less than $10 to $50 or more.

Before you make a purchase, though, be sure to understand the "why" of it.

The temptations are certainly out there. You can buy Elvis wines or Marilyn Merlots, adorned with photos of Monroe in sultry poses. There's even a "young" merlot called, you guessed it, "Norma Jeane."

Golf legend Greg Norman, racing's Mario Andretti and basketball superstar Larry Bird all have their wines. Lorraine Bracco of The Sopranos is in a partnership with StraightUp Brands Inc. to offer a line of eight Italian wines sold under her name.

Fess Parker of Davy Crockett fame is perhaps now better-known as a California winemaker. Filmmaker Sofia Coppola's name is on cans of sparkling wines produced by her well-regarded winemaker dad, Francis Ford Coppola.

Celebrity wines offer exposure to possible new markets as fans buy wines made by their heroes. And, generally, celebrity wines are meant to be fun, trendy things.

In the end, it really is about drinkability, wine purveyor Doug Jeffirs says. "If the quality is not in the bottle, the product dies when the novelty wears off. The consumer says what stays and what doesn't."

Looking for star power

Judge a celebrity's wine as you would a celebrity: Does the wine have a pleasant public persona, does the wine have something to say, does the wine have a sense of glamour or star power? An informal blind tasting of three reds showed some of these wines are as distinctive as the name on the label.

2002 Greg Norman Estates Shiraz-Cabernet Limestone Coast: A star golfer is behind this South Australia red blend. Colored a black-cherry red, this tannic wine had a woodsy scent and was rife with notes of cedar, green pepper and leather. $13.99.